This new program is led by Marguerite Rigoglioso, Ph.D.
Author, The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece
& Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity
Four Thursday evenings (6:30–9:30 p.m.) and three Saturdays (10–5 p.m.),
from March 1 – July 28, 2012 (SEE BELOW FOR DATES)
PLUS, FREE INTRODUCTORY LECTURE: Awakening to the Cosmic Womb
Thursday, January 19, 2012, 7–9:30 p.m., open to the public
Location for all sessions: Hillside Swedenborgian Community Church,
1422 Navellier Street, El Cerrito, CA 94530
INQUIRE FOR TUITION & Payment Plan Option:
Marguerite at 415-457-7008 or info@cultofdivinebirth.com.
Course may be taken for Independent Study units for those enrolled at the
California Institute of Integral Studies and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology;
please speak with your program advisor.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
• Have you had a calling or a curiosity to explore the priestesshoods of the ancient Greek world –– the oracles of Delphi and Dodona, the holy women dedicated to the various deities –– and find out more about who their goddesses really were?
• Do you suspect that this time and place in the West was one of your “homes”?
• Do you feel there is a deep, untapped well of information there –– and within yourself –– that holds the key to your own inner growth and the wisdom of the emerging age?
• Have you had a special feeling or secret events related to erotic encounters with non-embodied beings, unusual conception experiences, private or unexpected “tantric” engagements that have taken you to higher levels, or questions and conflicts concerning What Virginity Is All About?
• Do you have a love for the Virgin Mary that you don’t quite know what to do with, or a “knowing” that there is something more to virgin birth than we have been told?
In this unique and unprecedented program, Dr. Marguerite Rigoglioso offers you a sacred journey that will provide you with “missing link” information to help you integrate your longings, leanings, and learnings into a coherent spiritual understanding –– and help you establish or refine to your own path as a grounded priestess who draws from the authentic Greek spiritual tradition.
With a focus on the role of the holy women of Mediterranean antiquity, the program centers on Dr. Rigoglioso’s pioneering discovery that at the core of women’s shamanic work was divine birth –– an actual practice considered the most elevated form of spiritual service possible. Its purpose? To bring individuals with elevated consciousness to the planet who could serve as guides and helpers to humanity.
Most people assume that virgin birth was Mary’s alone. But in this remarkable course of study and spiritual unfolding, you will explore Dr. Rigoglioso's well-grounded theory that Mary was just one woman among many who was devoted to this practice in Western antiquity, a priestess who was part of a lineage of holy women who actively sought to attempt miraculous conception. You will find out how such priestesses were used, abused, and “disappeared” over time, how and why the idea of divine birth has been relegated to the realm of pure fantasy or personal “faith.”
The “divine birth” piece allows us to comprehend the full picture of women’s priestessing in the ancient world and make sense of many previously inexplicable and mysterious beliefs and practices. It also lets us see women’s important –– but hidden –– role in Christianity, Judaism, and other world religions with stunning new clarity.
By embarking on this sacred program, you become the first of a new generation of women to restore the womb mysteries as they relate to women’s visionary and oracular powers. You come to understand how uterine energies may be used for healing, divinatory communication, and sacred transmission. At the far reaches of this study, you become nothing less than a pioneer in re-opening the portal to divine birth –– women’s greatest form of holy service designed to bring elevated guidance to our world. The journey will address your personal and collective longing to See, Know, and Act with the sacred intention and wisdom in the tradition of our ancient Mediterranean foresisters so that we may
become holy women birthing the new paradigm of consciousness. This will be a sacred COLLECTIVE process that allows each woman to be both transmitter and learner.
IF YOU ARE FEELING CALLED, TRUST THAT YOUR PRESENCE IS NEEDED.
THE APPROACH
Dr. Rigoglioso’s approach is the way of the mystery schools of the ancient Mediterranean world, which united both right and left brain, intellect and intuition, to cultivate the integrated spiritual seeker and leader. She offers a solid grounding in research and the sharing of her spiritual teachings so as to spark your own fascination, “memories,” and information. From there, we enter the mysteries in an experiential way, accessing our own knowing and the guidance available on the inner planes.
The transformative journey will include powerpoint lectures, discussion, intuitive communication, ceremony, guided meditations, healing rites, cultivation of intuitive skills, and movement –– all set in a sacred ceremonial container. Participants will be invited to bring their insights, skills, and talents in service to the group and the larger energies being invoked. Those with devotions to particular deities and ancestresses being studied will find a place to express that connection in newly inspired ways.
In between class sessions, Dr. Rigoglioso will hold a sacred womb container for group communication and one-on-one integration.
On the spiritual level, you will come away with:
• knowledge of how to integrate into your life, work, and spiritual practice your sacred female ability to facilitate healing and communicate with the otherworldly realms in mind and body;
• validation and strengthening of your own inner knowing, intuitions, and “memories”;
• a clearer sense of your own mission as a spiritual leader and how to manifest it in the world;
• a community with which to continue the work;
• official ordainment as a minister (with the legal authority to conduct weddings, baptisms, and funerals) through the Universal Life Church.
On the intellectual level, you will come away with:
• authority as one of the first individuals with a comprehensive picture of an entire ancient female shamanic practice that has been ignored;
• an inspired new understanding of the role of virginity, celibacy, and inner tantric use of sexual energies in the realm of spiritual practice;
• the skill to “read” and uncover similar repressed information in other cultures and times;
• knowledge about the mystical role of Greek priestesses not taught elsewhere;
• historical underpinnings for things typically dismissed as “New Age” –– e.g., channeling and psychic skill, humanity’s connection with the Pleiades, etc.
Program includes:
• Free lecture: Awakening to the Cosmic Womb
• Four 3-hour evening sessions, with lecture, group discussion, and experiential work
• Three full Saturday workshops
• A monthly 15-minute integration session by phone with Dr. Rigoglioso, focused on one selected discussion issue
• A 30-minute Spiritual Mentoring session with Dr. Rigoglioso in month four
• Five months of email access to Dr. Rigoglioso on specific questions that may arise
• A private class listserve for ongoing communication and integration
• One copy each of Dr. Rigoglioso’s books The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece and Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity
FULL PROGRAM:
FREE LECTURE
Thursday, January 19, 2012
7:00-9:30 p.m.
Awakening to the Cosmic Womb:
Reclaiming Earth and Universe as Virgin Mothers
A talk and group activation for all genders
Is the Universe a Uterus? Yes, said the ancients, and even science is beginning to confirm this idea. In this new and power-packed presentation, Marguerite Rigoglioso, Ph.D., brings forth ever-more-penetrating mystical understandings of Gaia and the Great Cosmic Mother. Weaving her trusted scholarship on the ancient Greeks with cutting-edge science and her own spiritual teachings, she:
• compares ancient and modern theories of a “Mother Universe” that gives birth to other universes
• relates ancient beliefs to fascinating discoveries regarding black holes
• proposes a holographic theory of “universe as uterus,” based on fractal mathematics
• explores how this parallels the ancient conception of the Cosmic Sophia as “womb,” and other goddesses as Virgin Mothers
• offers new insights on why the oracle at Delphi was considered a “womb,” and how this relates to women’s oracular ability
• provides further links between women’s womb magic and the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades/Seven Mothers of the World
• reveals energetic connections between women’s wombs, Gaia, and the Cosmic Womb to be used for healing, prophecy, and service
Bring your curiosity, wisdom, and seeing to this cosmic group event!
FORMAL CLASS MEETINGS:
1) Thursday, January 19, 7 to 9:30 p.m. (free lecture above)
2) Thursday, March 1, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
3) Thursday, March 22, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
4) Thursday, April 19, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
5) Thursday, May 17, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
6) Saturday, June 23, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
7) Saturday, July 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
8) Saturday, July 28, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
THURSDAY, March 1 (6:30 – 9:30 p.m.)
Session 1: The Mysterious Practice of Divine Birth
In this fascinating and provocative discussion, we explore evidence for the existence of priestesshoods dedicated to attempting divine birth throughout ancient Greece. We look at the “rape by gods” and miraculous conception stories from Greek history and myth as evidence of women’s actual shamanic practice. We scan medical views on conception that may have supported such an idea, delve into the role of virginity, trance, and eros in this practice, and trace changes in the practice over time as women’s power was eroded under patriarchy. We also touch upon the science behind virgin birth. Finally, we begin to look at who the Virgin Mary was in relation to all this, a moving exploration that we will take up again in the last session when we finally have the codes to put all the pieces together.
In the experiential part of this session, we honor our priestess ancestors ritually. We also utilize the group field to embark on a meditative journey to intuit further information personally and collectively about virgin birth. We will discuss what skills and devotions each woman brings that may be incorporated into the future program sessions.
THURSDAY, March 22 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Session 2: Athena/Neith and Her Divine Birth Priestesshood
–– Foundational Mothers of Athens
To understand how and why divine birth priestesses operated, we must first grasp a hidden piece –– that the goddesses they served originally were considered virgin mothers. In the Greek tradition, Athena –– warrior, inventor of crafts, and source of wisdom –– was the goddess who most famously held the title Parthenos, “Virgin.” Exploring her roots in Africa as the Virgin Mother Neith, we lift Athena out of her sterilized role as “daughter of Zeus” in service to the patriarchy, and behold her in her original, empowered form. We approach myths of her priestesses wrongly engaging in “sexual unions” with gods as clues to the existence of an entire cult of virgins who attempted miraculous birth and established the very foundation of Athens.
We delve into evidence that the mythical “Amazons” of North Africa were actual warrior women in service to Athena and divine birth, and we explore Medusa as an historical North African Amazon queen who engaged in this practice.
In the experiential part of this session, we honor Athena and engage in sacred ritual to “free” her from the “mesh of Zeus” and revitalize her sovereignty, and dramatically engage to restore Medusa’s head to her body.
THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Session 3: Artemis and Her Divine Birth Priestesshood
–– “Amazons,” “Nymphs,” and “Lesbian” Erotics
In ancient Greece, Artemis was known in various forms –– as the twin sister of Apollo, the goddess of the Arcadan “nymphs,” the fierce patroness of Tauris and Brauron, and the nurturing nature goddess of Ephesus. In this discussion, we get underneath such imagery to recover a much older goddess who was,
like Athena, a virgin creator deity. We embrace the legendary Amazons of West Asia as historical women devoted to Artemis. We explore the “nymph” as a priestess of divine birth dedicated to Artemis and thought to have special “shapeshifting” powers akin to the “dakini” of the Tibetan tradition, and consider the lesbian eroticism implied in nymph stories as part of the tantric sexuality originally required for virgin birth.
In the experiential part of this session, we honor Artemis and learn a powerful meditation to connect our wombs with the Earth womb, Celestial womb, and planetary womb grid, and use that sexual energy network for healing and transformation.
THURSDAY, May 17, 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Session 4: Hera and Her Divine Birth Priestesshood
–– Producing the “Heroes” and the Olympic Games
Like Athena and Artemis, the great goddess Hera also mysteriously bore the elevated title Parthenos, “Virgin,” despite being yoked in marriage to the god Zeus. In this discussion, we see that Hera was once goddess of the sky, earth, and underworld who had no male consort. We recognize Heracles’ “twelve labors” and the “Judgment of Paris” (that famous apple contest!) as attempts to dismantle divine birth priestesshoods. We untangle legends at Samos and Argos suggesting the presence of lineages of divine birth priestesses dedicated to Hera, and identify the legendary Io as an actual historical priestess who was conscripted into sexual rites with the god Zeus to produce an Egyptian king. We also come to the startling realization that the famed Olympic Games originated in earlier virgin footraces founded by holy women dedicated to divine birth!
In the experiential part of this session, we honor Hera and ritually cleanse our wombs and “restore our virginity” so as to be in sacred service with clear intention. We also explore the further use of the “kundalini” power and the light/matter interface in our wombs.
SATURDAY, June 23, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.(includes both sessions 5 and 6)
Morning: Session 5: Demeter and Persephone, Double Goddess of Heaven, Earth, and Hell
–– and Their Thesmophoria Mystery Rite
In the Olympian pantheon, Demeter was the goddess of the grain; Kore or Persephone was her daughter, the maiden goddess of the springtime and the underworld. In this discussion, we uncover evidence that Demeter and Persephone were originally husbandless Virgin Mothers. We consider the possibility that Persephone was interrupted in her own task of virgin birth by a male god who “used” her to create his own “double,” and we understand this event as symbolically marking for the Greeks the “moment” when patriarchy took over planet. We also reinterpret the Thesmophoria dedicated to these goddesses as a matriarchal mystery rite that originally celebrated the Feminine capacity for virgin birth.
Afternoon: Session 6: The Eleusinian Mysteries
–– Apologizing to the Raped Virgin, Birthing Children of the Gods
The Eleusinian Mysteries celebrated Demeter and Persephone and forever transformed the lives of initiates, making them unafraid of death. Scholars have puzzled for more than a century over “what really happened” in these famous rites, which participants were sworn not to discuss. Dr. Rigoglioso offers a vision –– based on the missing “piece” of divine birth –– that makes sense of them at long last, exposing surprising yet well-grounded findings. In this provocative discussion, we consider the theory that initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries experienced a ritualized “rape/abduction” of Persephone into the underworld. We learn that medicines and special implements shocking to the Christian fathers were used to facilitate the experience, and we understand that men had to “become” women to enter into the sacred knowledge of Demeter and Persephone. We also make sense of the culminating ritual as a divine birth sex rite between the priestess and a god, one designed to incarnate a “new” Dionysus who would become the future king.
In the experiential part of this day, group members priestess a ceremony developed in advance that is appropriate to the spiritual stream of the day’s sessions.
SATURDAY, July 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (includes both sessions 7 and 8)
Morning: Session 7: Starry “Origins” in the Seven Sisters
–– and the Divine Birth Priestesshood at Dodona as a Pleiadian Outpost
To the Greeks and many others, the Pleiades were highly important stars conceived as Seven Sisters and doves. In this discussion, we learn that the Pleiades were considered by the Greeks to be Virgin Mothers of deities, kings, and “the larger part of the entire human race.” We recognize their parallel stories worldwide
as a record of an astral history of female leadership and empowerment related to planet earth that was usurped. We explore the Pleiades’ relationship in Greek lore to both Troy and Atlantis, and consider the mystical implications of this. We piece together the relationship between the Pleiades and the oracular site
of Dodona, thereby identifying Dodona as a location of a divine birth priestesshood. We also evaluate contemporary “channelings” related to the Pleiades in light of this more ancient information.
Session 8:
The Divine Birth Priestesshood at Delphi
–– From Conceiving Daughters of the Earth to Bearing Sons of the Sun
In ancient Greece, priestesses delivered the wisdom of the deities to guide individuals, kings, and countries in their personal and political affairs. Nowhere was this carried out more famously than at Delphi. In this discussion, we explore the most comprehensive information to date on functions of the Delphic priestess.
We learn about her use of sacred medicines to induce trance, and intuit how she used sound vibrations
and light as part of her work. We tease out the mystery behind why such women were called both “bee”
and “snake.” We identify the connection between women’s oracular and virgin birth abilities, and explore evidence that Delphi was thus also the site of a divine birth priestesshood where women served as “wives
of Apollo.” Finally, we consider what the demise of the honeybee might be “prophesying” today.
In the experiential part of this day, we learn about various ways of entering into trance to receive oracular information, and we invite others in the group with experience and knowledge to add their wisdom in this regard. We engage in a moving ceremony to connect with the Seven Sisters of the Pleiades.
SATURDAY, July 28 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (includes sessions 9 and 10)
Morning: Session 9: The Virgin Mary: Trained Lineage Priestess of Divine Birth
Our program comes together in this final day, when we take all we have learned in service to a new and empowered reclaiming of one of the most significant female figures of all times: the Virgin Mary. Moving beyond doctrine, dogma,
and the confines of “religion,” we reclaim the Virgin Mary for all women by understanding her to have been part of a lineage of sophisticated shamanic practitioners whose work to incarnate avatars was deliberate, not passive or accidental. We recognize her mother Anne as having given birth to her miraculously, and uncover signs in her childhood story of her own training as a holy virgin of divine birth. We see signs in Mary’s story of miraculous birth as a sacred rite involving the light/matter interface. We conclude by considering new possibilities about the role of Mary Magdalene in this sacred program.
Afternoon: Session 10: Commitment Ceremony
In this last session, we draw together as a group to honor what we have learned in a self-created ceremony. We reflect on how women’s sacred womb capacities –– particularly the practice of virgin birth –– may be restored in service to our beleaguered world. With others as witnesses, we also make a personal vow of commitment or dedication to our own sacred service. Finally, we honor one another as formal ministers, with the legal authority to officiate at weddings, baptisms, and funerals.
About the Instructor
Marguerite Rigoglioso is a scholar/practitioner of ancient mystery wisdom. She is the author of The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece and Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity (Palgrave Macmillan 2009, 2010), pioneering volumes that provide evidence for the existence of a network of priestesses dedicated to attempting miraculous conception in the ancient Mediterranean world.
A member of the faculties of Dominican University of California, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in the San Francisco Bay area, she teaches leading-edge courses on female deities and women’s religious roles.
Dr. Rigoglioso delivered a James C. Loeb Classical Lecture at Harvard University on her unique research in October 2009, and a keynote address at the May 2011 “Daimonic Imagination” conference at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England.
She holds a doctorate in humanities and a master’s degree in philosophy and religion from the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Vassar College, with high honors.
Announcing New Program
The Divine Birth Mystery Teachings:
Reawakening the Ancient Mediterranean Priestesshoods
A Five-Month Program of Study and Priestess Preparation for Women
